Council Actions

Alexandria, VA – May 1, 2012 —  The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section has approved for public comment Draft Addendum V to Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Herring. The Draft Addendum proposes measures to refine and consolidate Atlantic herring spawning regulations as recommended by the Atlantic Herring Technical Committee. These include (1) refining sampling protocols; (2) providing flexibility to change spawning boundaries based on Technical Committee input through Section action; and (3) consolidating all spawning regulations into one document.

The Draft Addendum responds to observed changes in Atlantic herring spawning behavior (size of spawning fish and extent of spawning area) as well as the need to clarify spawning regulations so that they are interpreted and applied consistently among the implementing states.  

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum. The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org ) under Breaking News or by contacting the Commission at 703.842.0740 by May 11, 2012. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on June 15, 2012 and should be forwarded to Christopher Vonderweidt, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Atlantic Herring Draft Addendum V).

 

 

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has released its agenda for the 2012 Spring Meeting. The Executive Committee will meet in closed session on May 1 to discuss issues related to employment contracts and HR matters.  

 All meeting materials, including supplemental materials

 Agenda

 

 

 

 

 

Public Listening Session at the New England Fishery Management Council Meeting Tuesday, April 24, 2012 – 4:15 to 5:00 p.m. Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan Blvd., Mystic, CT 06355‐1900

The Council will hold an informal question and answer period at its April 24-26 meeting in Mystic, CT. Tuesday’s 45 minute session, which will be open the public, is an opportunity to comment on items relevant to Council business but not listed on this agenda, or to ask questions of the Council itself. This session is not intended to be used for nor will it replace the public’s opportunity to make comments during consideration of any action item that is scheduled for a Council vote at this meeting.

NEFMC Chairman Rip Cunningham will preside over the listening session, in addition to the rest of the meeting. You may attend in person in Mystic, CT, or if you are listening via webinar, you may participate by typing in a question that the staff will forward on to the Council. Please include your name and affiliation in both cases.

Typed questions should be brief so that they may be easily be transmitted to the Council. They may or may not be provided to Council members in the same order they are received, so please be patient. Verbal exchanges between on-line participants and the Council are not feasible at this time.

Questions that are very detailed or specific to an individual situation should be addressed in a call to the Council office during the staff’s Monday – Friday work week or in written correspondence, including email (send to Pat Fiorelli, pfiorelli@nefmc.org). Also keep in mind that comments that take more than a few minutes are best made at the Council meeting and not online.

Participants will have a chance to address many topics but those related to policy, Council timelines, future actions, suggestions for better communications with stakeholders, meeting schedules and/or issues that have been overlooked to date, may best suit the listening session format. This is the New England Council’s first listening session and we welcome your participation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted to develop a plan amendment to protect deep-sea corals at their meeting in Duck, NC last week.  This is the first time the Council has ever initiated an action specifically to protect corals in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Deep-sea corals provide important habitat for many commercially and recreationally important fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic.  While Mid-Atlantic deep-sea coral species do not build reefs, some types are structurally complex and require hard substrates for attachment.  These corals, which are important habitat areas, are thought to be particularly vulnerable to physical damage because of their slow growth rates.

“This decision demonstrates the Council’s commitment to manage and protect not only Mid-Atlantic fisheries but also the habitats that those fish rely on,” said Council Chairman Rick Robins.  “Our understanding of the location and ecological significance of deep-sea corals has improved in recent years and will benefit from upcoming benthic survey work in the Mid-Atlantic region.  This deep-sea coral amendment will put the Council in a position to manage these sensitive components of the marine ecosystem.” 

The amendment would include provisions for developing management measures to protect areas with high densities of deep-sea corals.  These areas were identified in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions during the development of the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment.  The amendment was initiated in 2005 to develop a comprehensive plan that will minimize adverse effects of fishing on deep-sea corals and other areas of EFH.

To date, efforts to identify and protect deep-sea coral areas have involved collaboration between the Mid-Atlantic and New England Councils.  In order to preserve the continuity of the process, the Council also voted last week to develop a memorandum of understanding between the Mid-Atlantic, New England, and South Atlantic Councils.  This will allow the councils to coordinate broad-scale deep-sea coral management measures.

A more detailed summary of the meeting can be found online at: http://mafmc.org/press/2012/April_2012_Council_Report.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 18, 2012 – The following was released by the ASMFC:

April 18, 2012- The final agenda and meeting materials for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's 2012 Spring Meeting are now available.

Please note the following scheduling changes: (1) the Atlantic Herring Section meeting is now scheduled to begin at 1 PM on Monday (it was originally scheduled for 10 AM – Noon on Monday); (2) the American Lobster Board will be meeting at 3:15 PM on Monday (it was originally scheduled for 1:15 – 3:15 PM on Monday); (3) the Tautog Board, which was scheduled to meet on May 1, has been cancelled; (4) the Atlantic Striped Bass Board has been moved from Monday afternoon to Tuesday morning (8:30 – 10 AM); and (5) the Atlantic Menhaden Board meeting will begin at 8 AM rather than 8:30 AM.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be conducting a public hearing on Draft Amendment 14 on Monday April 30, 2012 from 5:30 – 7 PM. Commissioners and interested members of the public are encouraged to attend and submit their input. This will be the only opportunity for members of ASMFC's Shad & River Herring Management Board to receive a thorough overview of the Draft Amendment as well as submit their comments.

Both the American Eel and River Herring Advisory Reports and Stock Assessment Reports are provided as part of the Boards' meeting materials. Please note that these documents are in DRAFT form and may not be cited until both Boards have approved their respective documents for management use.

Some documents may be large (River Herring Stock Assessment Report is +1,000 pages), so please be patient downloading. Meeting materials are also available on CD-ROM; to obtain a CD, please contact Cindy Robertson at crobertson@asmfc.org.

Supplemental materials will be posted to the website on Wednesday, April 25, 2012.

Read the meeting materials.

Read the agenda.

 

 

April 17, 2012 – The  Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is soliciting nominations from qualified individuals to serve on its Atlantic Sturgeon Advisory Panel including individuals with expertise in sturgeon biology and life history, sturgeon population assessment, and those familiar with sturgeon interactions with fisheries and gear types in the Mid-Atlantic. Advisors will assist in the development of management measures to reduce impacts on Atlantic sturgeon by helping the Council better understand the issues surrounding sturgeon and their interactions with Mid-Atlantic fisheries. Applicants who are appointed to the Atlantic Sturgeon Advisory Panel will serve a term of 3 years.

Anyone interested in serving as a member on the Council's Atlantic Sturgeon Advisory Panel can submit an application to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, 800 N. State Street, Suite 201, Dover, DE 19901, email the form to info1@mafmc.org or fax it to (302) 674-5399.  Please note as the subject on your email or fax:  ATLANTIC STURGEON ADVISORY PANEL.  Applications can be obtained by visiting http://www.mafmc.org/, or by contacting the Council office at (302) 674-2331 (ext.253).
 
Applications must be received by May 11, 2012.

Read the announcement here.

April 16, 2012 – The New England Fishery Management COuncil (NEFMC) has made available the documents for its April 24-26 meeting.

View the documents here.

 

April 16, 2012 – The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) has made available the discussion documents for the April 18 meeting of the groundfish committee.

View the documents here.

 

 

Mystic – National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the New England Fishery Management Council will host a public hearing at 6 p.m. April 25 at the Hilton Hotel, 20 Coogan Boulevard, to obtain public input on measures proposed for inclusion in Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan.

Amendment 5 measures could include adjustments to the fishery management program, reporting requirements and measures to address trip notification, carrier vessels and transfers of herring at-sea. A catch monitoring program also is being considered as well as measures to address river herring bycatch and criteria for midwater trawl vessel access to the year-round groundfish closed areas.

For information, contact Paul Howard, executive director of the New England Fishery Management Council, at (978) 465-0492.

Read the full story at The Day.

The Groundfish Oversight Committee will meet to discuss several issues related to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan including:

-Continue development of an action to modify measures that apply to sectors. This discussion is expected to focus primarily on monitoring issues, and may include discussion of ACE carryover provisions and other measures relevant to sector operations.

-Discuss an action to establish acceptable biological catches (ABCs) and annual catch limits (ACLs) for fishing years 2013 and 2014. Setting ABCs/ACLs may require modification of recreational fishing measures and the Committee may discuss this issue.
-May also discuss adopting additional sub-ACLs for the scallop fishery and pursuing the Mixed Stock Exception for SNE/MA windowpane flounder.
-May discuss possible modifications to groundfish closed areas and the recent Endangered Species Act listing of Atlantic Sturgeon.
-Discuss possible modifications to gear stowage requirements.
-Other business.

 

Read the Meeting Notice from The New England Fishery Management Council